BEARCATS HOST OLIVER NIKOLOFF INVITE: The Bearcats host their second meet in the newly-renovated Gettler Stadium on April 2. The Oliver Nikoloff Invitational, named for the former UC track and field coach, will begin with field events at 11 a.m.

UC HAS STRONG WEEKEND: Kenny Wade won both the 100 and 200 meter dash at the competitive Raleigh Relays at the Paul Derr Track & Field Stadium on the campus of North Carolina State University on March 25 and 26.

Wade, a 2004 NCAA qualifier, ran a 10.62 in the 100 and a regional-qualifying 21.07 in the 200 meters.

Tyler Grieves placed seventh in the men?s high jump, leaping 6' 6-3/4". Dan Albrinck and Chad Beamer finished second and fifth, respectively, in the pole vault. Albrinck cleared 15' 3", while Beamer posted a 14' 9" vault. In the long jump, Chandler Groves (23' 8") and Cameron Widget (23' 3-1/2") finished second and fourth, respectively. The Bearcats? 4 x 200 relay team placed third with a 1:27.77.

For the women, Renee Hein finished second in the high jump with a leap of 5' 10-3/4", just 1/4" short of a school record. In the pole vault, Brittany Klima placed fifth, clearing 11' 7-3/4", breaking the UC record by six inches. Jocelyn Gibson was a sixth-place finisher in the 800 meters, posting a 2:16.52.

THREE BEARCATS QUALIFY EARLY: Kenny Wade, Jimmy Mount and Renee Hein each posted qualifying marks over the past weekend. Wade, a 2004 NCAA qualifier in the 100 meter dash, qualified in the 200 meters (21.07) at the Raleigh Relays. Mount?s decathlon mark (7066) provisionally qualified him for the NCAA Championships. He is now seventh on the UC career performance list. Hein cleared 5' 10-3/4" in the high jump at the Raleigh Relays to reach the provisional mark.

KLIMA TIME: Freshman Brittany Klima has made an immediate impact on the women?s team. She owns the UC record in the outdoor pole vault (11? 7-3/4?) and has put her name in the UC top 10 in the indoor high jump (5? 5?, seventh) and indoor pole vault (11? 5-3/4?, second).

YOUNG AT HEART: Senior Jo Young was named the Conference USA Women?s Track and Field Athlete of the Week for the week ending on March 20.

Young won three events at the Early Bird Relays. The Bearcats? record holder in the shot put, she won the shot (44' 5-1/4"), hammer throw (158' 10"), and discus (133' 1"). Her hammer throw mark is tops in C-USA this season, while her shot put mark ranks third and discus mark ranks sixth.

LIKE A BROKEN RECORD: The women?s indoor track and field team set several school records in 2005.

Sophomore Renee Hein improved on her own school mark throughout the season, winning the C-USA high jump title with a 5? 9-1/2? leap.

Junior Shintara Carpenter also broke her own record in the triple jump, posting a 40? 10-1/4?.

Sophomore Tara Meier was locked in a three-way tie with Junior Ashley Wilhelm and Freshman Brittany Klima for the top pole vault mark. She eclipsed her teammates at the C-USA Championships with an 11? 11-3/4? vault.

Wilhelm bettered her own school mark, scoring 3567 points in the pentathlon in winning the Akron Open.

Senior Jo Young dominated the indoor season, winning seven of the 12 events she entered. Young holds each of the top 10 indoor shot put marks in school history.

DEFENDING THE CROWN: The UC men?s team will be looking to defend its Conference USA title this season. Last year, the men won their third C-USA crown in nine years. The Bearcat men have finished no lower than third at the C-USA Championships and placed second on four occasions.

The women?s team has improved since the league started in 1996. UC finished last, scoring only one team point in 1996, but has finished sixth and fifth, respectively, the last two seasons.

FOUR BEARCATS PLACE AT USATF INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS: Four University of Cincinnati track and field athletes competed in the 2005 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships on Feb. 25-27 at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Boston, Mass. Current athletes Kenny Wade and Chris Smith, along with former Bearcats David Payne and Mary Danner, all placed in the top five in their respective events.

Payne, a two-time All-American for UC, posted a 7.64 in the 60 meter hurdles finals, placing fourth. His 7.62 was the fastest time in the preliminaries and set an all-time Ohio record.

A 2004 NCAA qualifier, Wade just missed the finals in the 60 meter dash, posting a 6.777 in the preliminaries. Wade essentially finished ninth, as the last of the eight finals qualifiers ran a 6.771. His time eclipsed his school record by .03 seconds.

Smith finished in a fifth-place tie in the pole vault, clearing 17' 3/4".

The lone UC female to compete, Danner placed second in the 400 meter dash, finishing in 53.25. Danner holds each of the top 10 marks in UC history in the event, and bested her school record of 55.54, set in 2002.

OPENING GETTLER: The men?s and women?s track and field teams played host to the Early Bird Relays on March 19, in the first meet held at the newly-renovated Gettler Stadium. The stadium, also home to UC?s men?s and women?s soccer teams, is part of the Richard E. Lindner Varsity Village. Gettler Stadium features an eight-lane, 400 meter track, an official size soccer field with FieldTurf Pro playing surface, permanent grandstands with seating for 1,400 patrons, concession stands and restrooms, a pressbox, scoreboard with message center, and lights. Varsity Village addresses the needs to attract quality student-athletes to all of Cincinnati?s sports programs and provide an environment in which they can succeed academically, athletically, and physically.

COMING UP: The Bearcats will travel to Oxford, Ohio for the Miami Invitational on April 9.